10-26-2012, 04:45 AM | #12 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Tenerife (Spain)
Posts: 3,719
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Re: Hello from a new rider in Berkeley, CA
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10-26-2012, 09:03 AM | #13 | |
Super Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Dalton, GA
Posts: 3,996
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Re: Hello from a new rider in Berkeley, CA
Quote:
The rear brake blows. I only ever used it when I needed to brake quickly or to lightly shave some MPH during a turn. (That takes experience by the way. Jamming your foot down on the rear can be deadly mid-turn, even with a crap brake.) Were you giving it enough throttle, during those low turns? I mean, it's possible that you just weren't moving fast enough. There is very good scientific explanation for this but I don't have the vocabulary for it. The bike weights nearly 400 pounds. If you aren't moving at a decent clip where momentum offsets gravity, then it's going to fall over. Same reason bicycles can't stand up while sitting still and you will fall off of a wave runner if you ever stop moving. Think gyroscope. - If you are leaning, maybe too much, and not moving fast enough, thus creating enough counter force, it will feel like the bike wants to fall into the inside of the turn. If it's not that, then you need to look at wheel balance, tire pressure, and rear wheel alignment. Those are all things that you can check on your own, with the help of this dandy little forum. If you have the slight head leak, with brown oily residue, like I think 90% of GZ owners have, then you shouldn't be smelling that bit of oil burning off. If this is your first ride after an oil change, you most definitely got some oil on the exhaust at some point. Give that time to cook off and dissipate before we start worrying about bigger problems. - Now, that being said, these things, after a certain age, seem prone to developing an exhaust leak on the left (driver side US) header between the flange and the gasket. Oxidation or something is rapid right there and the little gasket starts to fail with age. The flange that screws the headers tight also works itself loose. It's something that you can smell. Just make sure it's snug. Or maybe, right after cranking the bike, use the back side of the your hand (the sensitive bit between the middle knuckle and finger tip knuckle) you see if you can feel puffs of air seeping out there. A feather works too. Login or Register to Remove Ads |
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